I was messing around with connectors on my cd system because it has not been working properly when i suddenly find my car is DEAD!

 

Its not the battery, the interior lights come on and the alarm system is working. When i put the key in the ignition and turn, no dashboard lights come on and the car wont start - no turning of the engine can be heard. Though the arial motor can be heard when i switch the ignition on the first turn...

 

Its a jap auto and i cant shift the auto lever at all...

 

The doors will not lock via my remote/alarm fob - which is not good on a sunday afternoon :( Though the alarm/immobiliser is working!

 

I had a quick look at some of the relevent fuses, they seem ok but i am not sure which i should be really checking. Also had a quick look at the large plastic boxes in the fuse box but i dont know how to check if any thing has blown on them as they totaly incased in plastic...

 

I need the car for work tommorrow, so any help is desperatley appriciated!! As you can tell i am not a car export so keep it simple thanks!!

 

Thanks

 

Barry

have been doing some more investigation:

 

the dash lights are coming on but very faintly - still the engine will not turn over..

 

Does this mean some sort of power drain - if so would this have any thing to do with cd changer - i have disconneted 2 of the 4 wires out of the cd changer (where i was fiddling with the connectors), 1 ribbon cable is really hard to disconnect so it is still connected, the other looks like the power cable - wired directly into the cd changer - what fuse would knock out the cd changer???

 

The interior lights look a bit faint too, i have disconnected the battery (will do for 30 mins) to see if that manages to reset any problems...

Compleley disconnect EVERYTHING you put in then try

when you say disconnect everything - i assume you mean on the cd changer?

 

All the connectors were previously connected, i was losing the right speaker when listening to cd's, so i wobbled the wires on the 2 connectors i now have disconnected (looking for breaks/bad soldering etc) - one minute everthing is ok with my partner listening in the car for loss of sound, next minute the cd head is playing up - i try disconnecting the 2 cables (speakers and cd head control i would assume), try turning the ignition off and back on again - DEAD.

 

so in summary the 2 connectors i was playing with are disconnected...

I just completely disconnected & removed the cd changer, checked for loose connections on the wiring harness in engine bay.

 

Still nothing, the dashboard lights come on but very dim and engine wont turn. Have had a solinoid/relay type werring noise once to the right of the dashboard/engine area when trying to start first time after reconnecting the battery.

 

The alarm/door locking system is working again :) one small victory! even when arming the alarm the indicators blink but very dimly...

 

It will start to get dark soon so wont be able to do much more - but to be honest i dont know what to check anymore without help, which will mean i am buggered tommorrow for work :(

 

Barry

Feel for you fella.

 

Like you, I`m no expert and rely on making sure the car is well maintained. If it stops working, I`m about as screwed as you.

 

Sure hope all goes well though.

 

As an afterthought, why don`t you call Luke? He seems to work pretty much 7 days. Might be able to help you......

Flat Battery.

erm, hate stating the obvious but.......................................its not just a flat battery is it? if the lights on the dash are dim then it would suggest low voltage. have you checked the battery voltage??

i havent checked that yet, as the battery was fine, though i suppose it could have been drained with crap going on!

 

Only trouble now is my jump leads are broken and i dont have a battery re-charger time to phone me mates on the scrounge...

 

If i do get a set of jump leads what is the procedure for conection order etc as i know it varies per car

 

Thanks

 

Barry

positive (+) to positive, negative (-) to negative. leave the donor car running for a while before trying to crank yours over.

btw, what style karate do you do, how long for??

I have got time to reply because all me mates must be on the internet and i get through on the phone!!!

 

Err, I do Shotokan Karate with the CFTS association and i have been doing it for 9-10 years i think... I am in the middle of preparing for my 2nd Dan Black Belt...

 

How about you?

 

Cheers for the info, just hope i can get hold of a set of jump leads now (that will teach me to not replace my old set and assuming the only problem now is a flat battery -- not to fiddle with my car :) though it would be nice to listen to my cd's!)

 

Barry

I'd wager that the battery is knackered, Had this with mine when messing with the stereo for a few hours, hed all the same symtoms everything worked but was very dim but the battery did'nt have the power to start the car and it also wouldn't take a charge when i tried to charge it.

 

If your battery was on the way out before its possible that all the work on the radio (without the engine running i assume) has put the last nail in its coffin.

3rd dan shotokan, with BSKA, been training about 18yrs now. if your ever down here well have to meet up for some zed talk & some training! I used to get up to milton springsteen for training courses, but thats all stopped for a while

Managed to find a set of jump leads and will pick them up as soon as my partner gets back.

 

If it is a knackered battery, can someone reccomend a decent replacement - one i can get my hands on quickly!

 

Thanks

 

Barry

BSKA (British shotokan Karate association?), is that a big association? Who is your chief instructor?

 

Have you a club affiliated up in MK? or were you coming up for special training courses with a particluar instructor?

 

I am being pursuaded to open up my own club at the mo, maybe if i ever have time :)

 

Barry

British Sport Karate Assoc. headed by Vic Charles (wado ryu), a very inspiring instructor.

 

sorry, it was work courses i used to come up on, not karate. I work for Merc.

Dude,

 

I once had exactly the same problem that you're having (only not on a zed). Dash lights were dim, central locking not working etc etc etc.

 

In my case it was definitely the battery...it was slaughtered.

 

BUT, if you're gonna jump it be VERY VERY VERY careful. My mate jumped his CRX once and blew absolutely everything...and he did everything right too! It wern't too cheap to fix neither.

 

Once you've jumped it, and I'm gonna state the obvious, take it for a right long licking on some long straights.

 

However, depending on how bad the battery is, you may find that tomorrow morning you'll have exactly the same bleedin problem.

 

Lets hope all you have to spend on is a new battery.

When you think you have a flat battery it's always worth checking the connections first -both ends. Remove, clean and replace them.

Well finally got it start after a few small problems with the jump leads not long enough etc...

 

Anyway went out with the "excuse" of just just need to drive the car to charge it up... :)

 

It started when i got back so we will see in the morning, then i can play with the cd changer later :D Hope it doesnt drain the battery again - at least i know whats happening & how to fix it!

 

Thanks for all the help

 

Barry